Unsustainable urban development for Zonguldak metropolitan area (NW Turkey)

Since Turkey is located on a region that is prone to the risks of natural disasters like earthquake, flooding, and avalanche; a majority of the residential areas are facing these risks at various levels. Before determination of these risks, taking action in order to decrease the vulnerability levels of the residential areas will help keep the damage at the minimum level in case of a disaster. Urban planning decisions which are made in accordance with vulnerability studies aiming to determine natural disaster risks will not only help prevent loss of life but also help decrease negative social and economic effects of disasters. The Zonguldak city has been chosen as a case study area since Zonguldak metropolitan area has endured almost all kinds of threats that a city can face. In this study disaster-producing factors in the area are primarily considered which can be named as topography, destruction of forest lands, geological and karstic structure, mining activities, and misuse of the land, and later risk assessment is conducted with geographic information system (GIS). It has been assessed that more than half of the buildings within the study area were constructed in areas not suitable for housing. It is concluded that there is a need for urgent urban development plan for the city.     

The role of community-based organization in the promotion of disaster preparedness at the community level: a case study of a coastal town in the Kochi Prefecture of the Shikoku Region, Japan

The Japanese rural coastal areas are inherently vulnerable to typhoons and tsunamis. Their vulnerability has been further increasing recently, in part due to social factors such as the aging of society and depopulation. Following the Kobe earthquake of 1995, the Japanese government has promoted the Voluntary Disaster Preparedness Organization (VDPO) to build communities that are more sustainable and resilient to natural disasters. However, studies indicate that some VDPO activity has stagnated. The present study focuses on a rural coastal area in Japan and examines whether VDPO impacts residents’ awareness of disaster preparedness and also examines ties among the community. The study relies on a questionnaire survey. It reveals that VDPO contributes to improving both awareness of disaster preparedness and ties in the community.     

中国南方雨雪冰冻灾害受损森林植被研究进展

2008年年初我国南方遭受了一场极为罕见的大范围持续低温雨雪冰冻极端气候灾害,这场灾害给我国人民的生产生活造成了重大损失,其中,林业受损尤为严重。我国学者针对受损森林生态系统进行了多方面的调查与研究。对现有的调查研究工作进行综述,重点概述了森林结构、功能和经济效益的受损状况,总结了天气条件、地理因素、树种及其生长情况,分析了林分特征等方面的森林受损机制以及受损森林的恢复与重建对策,对现有的研究在内容、水平及方向上的不足之处提出建议,以期对未来的相关研究提供帮助。     

南疆西部不同植被类型NDVI对风沙灾害的响应

不同植被类型对风沙灾害的响应研究有助于风沙灾害的遥感监测评估和防灾减灾工作。采用传统统计学和空间自相关方法,利用MODIS的每日反射率和土地类型产品,分析了风沙灾害后南疆西部不同植被类型NDVI的变化规律及其空间分布特征。结果表明：风沙灾害后,研究区不同植被类型NDVI的差异在增大,NDVI变化值在一0．3865~0．4148之间,NDVI减小的面积占整个研究区面积的54．98％,变异系数增大值在2．44％～36．75％之间;受到风沙灾害的影响,研究区植被NDVI全局Moran’SI系数从0．7982减小到0．6786,但在空间上仍存在显著的正相关性,具有显著的空间集聚特征;由NDVI差值的局部空间自相关指标集聚图以及不同植被类型NDVI差值的空间关联区域面积百分比,可以发现落叶针叶林和裸地或低植被覆盖地受风沙灾害的影响较小,郁闭灌丛和作物受风沙灾害的影响较大。上述关于风沙灾害后南疆西部不同植被类型的变化及其空间格局的研究结果,不仅证明了防护林的风沙阻挡作用,也可以为风沙灾害的防治工作提供参考依据。     

Tourists and disasters: lessons from the 26 December 2004 tsunamis

The 26 December 2004 tsunamis around the Indian Ocean exposed the vulnerability of many coastal communities, including those serving tourists. To draw conclusions regarding disaster risk reduction for tourism in coastal areas, this study surveyed international tourists who survived the tsunami regarding their perceptions and experiences of the disaster. Semi-structured interviews were completed between January and June 2005 of 55 primary interviewees who were international tourists in locations affected by the tsunami. The qualitative data from the interviews yielded commonalities across four main themes with relevance to disaster risk reduction: information and awareness, warning systems, personal preparation, and livelihoods. Three areas are suggested as topics to highlight for further investigation: the connections between sustainable tourism and disaster vulnerability, the role of tourists in disasters, and disaster risk reduction education.     

湖南省农业生态环境建设的问题与对策

湖南作为长江流域重要的农业大省，在主要农产品产量大幅度增长的同时，农业生态环境中存在的问题仍然严重，生态环境整体上尚未根本好转。湖南生态环境中存在的问题主要有；灾害频率和强度提高；不适当的丘岗山地与坡耕地开发造成了严重的水土流失；环境污染日趋严重。文章结合已有研究工作，提出了湖南农业生态建设主攻方向和措施。作者认为，(1)加强水土流失治理，是减少水旱灾害的根本措施。水土流失治理的重点是综合开发潜力大、人类垦殖活动频繁、环境相对脆弱的丘陵地区。(2)要构建人地协调的高效农业生态系统。在丘岗山区，依据不同自然条件，构建高效农业生态系统。达到提高生产率并保护生态环境的目的；在平原湖区调整农业布局，实行避灾减灾种植制度。(3)要依靠科技进步，促进农业生态建设。     

Assessment of a model of pollution disaster in near-shore coastal waters based on catastrophe theory

In this study, a model for assessing of environmental disasters in near-shore areas was developed using a multi-criteria evaluation method of catastrophe theory. The assessment model involved scenarios of eutrophication, pollution with heavy metals and organic compounds. An evaluation system of the model was composed of seven mesosphere indicators and twenty underlying indicators including water chemistry, water physics, water biology, heavy metals and organic pollutants in water and surface sediments. The model was applied to possibility assessment of environmental disasters in different functional regions of the Dalian Bay in 2001 and 2006. Results showed that the environmental disaster indicators in 2001 were equivalent to the Level 4 standard values of marine functional areas, but the eutrophication disaster indicators were lower than the Level 4 standard values. It is consistent with the occurrence of a large-scale red tide in Dalian Bay in 2001. In 2006, eutrophication remained the dominant problem of the region but organic pollutants, such as oil, were reduced remarkably. This coincided with ongoing local environmental-friendly practices for industries.     

长江流域洪灾与生态破坏的关系浅析:Ⅲ生态重建与减灾对策

在分析长江流域１９９８ 年洪水灾害与生态环境破坏的关系的基础上，提出了生态重建规划应以可持续发展为指导思想，坚持经济建设、社会发展与生态环境保护相协调的基本原则；指出了生态保护、恢复、重建的要点与方略；提出了防灾、减灾的对策建议。     

Coastal community resilience: analysis of resilient elements in 3 districts of Tamil Nadu State, India

India has a long coastline of about 7,517 km. with 20% occupying the coastal area. Due to increase in population; people have been exploring the possibility of developmental opportunities in the coastal areas. Tsunami in 2004 was another unexpected natural catastrophe which badly affected many South Indian coastal states especially the state of Tamil Nadu. Coastal communities here are increasingly at risk from many chronic and episodic coastal hazards which threaten the health and stability of coastal ecosystems and communities. The degradation of the coastal environment from chronic human-induced actions threaten food security, livelihoods, the overall economic development and well being of coastal communities. Disasters big or small affecting the coastal communities are reminders that, coastal communities are not resilient to normally recurring hazards. This fact has raised the question of developing community resilience since the most effective approach to reducing the long-term impact of coastal hazards would be to enhance capacities of coastal communities through initiatives which are aimed at ensuring a sustainable recovery in the aftermath of a disaster as well as reducing people’s vulnerability to these disasters. Eight elements of resilience i.e., Governance, Coastal Resource Management, Land Use and Structural Design, Society and Economy, Risk Knowledge, Warning and Evacuation, Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery have been identified which are considered essential to reduce risk from coastal hazards, accelerate recovery from disaster events, and adapt to changing conditions by the affected community. In this paper, all the eight resilience elements have been examined with respect to vulnerability and capacity assessment in selected Tsunami (2004) affected districts in the state of Tamil Nadu, India in order to identify the extent of resilience.     

Application of Markov-chain model for vegetation restoration assessment at landslide areas caused by a catastrophic earthquake in Central Taiwan

The 921 earthquake caused a catastrophic disaster in Central Taiwan. Ten years have passed since the earthquake occurred. Vegetation succession is the basis for establishing a restoration reference which plays an important role in vegetation restoration at landslide sites. Generally, growth conditions for grass are easier and the growth rate is faster than that for trees. Therefore, grass can be considered a pioneer species or an important reference for the early vegetation succession stage. This is the reason why grass is required to be extracted from other land covers. Integrating remote sensing, geographic information system and image classification into vegetation succession models is very important. In this study, the Markov chain model was applied for vegetation restoration assessment and discussion. Chiufenershan and Ninety-nine peaks were selected as the study areas. Five SPOT satellite images are used for land cover mapping and vegetation restoration simulations. Four categories of land covers were extracted, including forest, grass, bare land and water, respectively. From the transitive probability matrix (derived from any two land covers), the results show that vegetation restoration at the Chiufenershan and Ninety-nine peaks landslide areas is ongoing, but that has been disturbed by natural disasters.     

Self-insurance against natural disasters

Expenditures on self-insurance to mitigate the effects of natural disasters on the value of private assets are examined in a model where individuals are partially insured against financial loss by a public relief program and where private insurance is unavailable. The model predicts that optimal private expenditures on self-insurance will be excessive or insufficient according to the nature of the technology by which individuals protect their assets. The comparative static effects of variations in the level of public compensation, individual wealth, and attitudes toward risk and the degree of environmental uncertainty on self-insurance expenditures and on the magnitude and frequency of public compensation are also characterized and their implications for remedial government policies are examined.     

南迦巴瓦峰地区自然灾害及其对社会经济的影响

南迦巴瓦峰地区自然变异强烈而频繁,地震、泥石流、崩塌与滑坡、雪害、洪水等自然灾害普遍。探讨了自然灾害的特征和规律、灾害的成因及其对社会经济的影响等问题,认为该地区自然灾害具有连锁性、群发性、突发性和频发性;强烈的新构造运动、高山深谷地貌及温热多雨的气候条件等是该地区灾害发生的最主要自然成因。灾害对该区人民生命财产安全、交通运输、山地农业及森林资源等造成严重影响。     

吉林省农田景观动态与农业自然灾害相互关系研究

分别从作物生境、作物形态和作物种类角度分析吉林省近50a的农田景观动态变化情况,结合农业旱灾、水灾、风雹灾、霜冻灾害和作物病虫害成灾面积动态变化和各种农业自然灾害的成灾面积与受灾面积比的变化趋势,探讨农田景观动态与农业自然灾害的相互关系,指出农田景观生态多样性的降低是农业自然灾害频繁和灾损增加的一个主要原因。为了减轻自然灾害的损失,农业生产布局多样化是今后发展的方向。     

Coastal flood management in rural planning unit through land-use planning: Kaikhali, West Bengal, India

The Indian subcontinent is highly prone to the detrimental impacts of hazards viz. cyclones, floods and storm surges. Of late, these events have become extreme in nature and intensity. While occurrence and severity of the events is being linked to the phenomenon of climate change, their devastating potentialities are also getting triggered due to lack of resilience and coping capacity of the human community. That in turn depends on distribution of activities over the land i.e. land use pattern, affecting the socio -economic conditions directly. A coastal village often lacks infrastructural support, administrative attention and planning standards compared to a coastal city, thereby making it more vulnerable to disasters like flood. In a coastal city it is easy to govern and manage livelihood as land use depends highly on anthropogenic decisions. While in a coastal village, activities would highly depend on its natural characteristics viz. coastal geomorphology, soil, vegetation cover i.e. governance of livelihood by the eco-system. Hence, managing disaster through in-situ pro-active or developmental measures in a rural planning unit though imperative, is a challenging task. This paper focuses on spatial planning techniques for Restoration of ecological buffers and livelihood enhancement that would sustainably combat the impact of flood at village level in a coastal area. Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques have been used extensively in this study as application tools.     

我国北方农牧交错带脆弱生态地质环境形成机制探讨

中国北方农牧交错带生态地质环境脆弱 ,敏感性强 ,退化趋势显著 ,容易受到冲击和破坏。北方农牧交错带是生态地质环境灾害的多发区 ,主要表现为土地荒漠化加剧、气候灾害频繁和地方病害严重等。脆弱生态地质环境的形成机制包括地球内动力机制和外动力机制。内动力机制是指地质历史时期的构造运动 ,奠定了特殊的地貌格局和脆弱的地表物质基础 ;外动力机制包括东亚季风和人类活动。内外部机制共同作用将潜在的自然环境脆弱性转化为现实的严重生态地质环境灾害。     

How public health impact is addressed: a retrospective view on three different oil spills

Spanning over a half century, over 38 “major” oil spill accidents have occurred, with the Deep Water Horizon disaster proving to be one of the largest oil spills on record. It is during these environmental disasters where the public community gathers together to participate in the clean-up effort and government entities coordinate various action plans. Whether it is using (1) workers to apply chemical dispersants to facilitate the remediation of oil in impacted areas or (2) volunteers to pick up “tar balls” from the beach shorelines; public health concerns during an oil spill are warranted for consideration. The purpose of this review was to illustrate a need for increase in scientific advancement and governmental focus on detecting and mitigating public health effects following an oil spill disaster. With focus on the Exxon Valdez, Prestige, and Gulf oil spills, the governmental and scientific community responses were assessed. Using the human-environmental system model, this review illustrates how the model can be used to address human-health concerns following exposure to an oil spill stressor.     

Assessment of shoreline changes over the Northern Tamil Nadu Coast,South India using WebGIS techniques

Coastal zone is often vulnerable to natural hazards such as cyclones, storm surges, tsunamis, erosion, accretion, and coastal flooding; and man-made hazards like ports, jetties, seawalls, breakwaters, and groins. These disasters are frequently affecting the shorelines, beaches, and headlands that lead to loss of human life, properties, and natural ecosystems. To prevent further loss in the coastal zone and to conserve the existing natural resources, it is important to map and monitor vulnerable shorelines at frequent time intervals. The current study, conducted over the Northern TN (Tamil Nadu) coast of India, is highly dynamic due to its nature of coast and shoreline changes. The temporal remote sensing data and Survey of India (SOI) topographic maps over the period of 40 years (i.e., 1976–2016) were used to capture shorelines and then the erosion and accretion from the shorelines were assessed by performing the overlay analysis. These geospatial datasets of shorelines were incorporated into WebGIS platform, which was developed and demonstrated using open source software. This latest WebGIS technology allows users to store a large volume of geospatial datasets in the server and access through internet with a web browser that lead to manipulation, visualization, interaction, and dissemination. The results revealed that there were 61 layers, which include district-wise shorelines, erosion, and accretion for Tiruvallur, Chennai, and Kanchipuram. These geospatial datasets in WebGIS showed that the dynamism on the morphological structure of the shorelines, over the Northern TN lost 1,925 ha and gained 1,578 ha due to erosion and accretion, respectively. It is reported that in this study spatial reduction in the coastline may be attributed to natural and anthropogenic activities. However, this research will be useful for various stakeholders, including coastal management authorities to formulate policies and to regulate the coastal development activities.     

The improved coupling coordination analysis on the relationship between climate,eco-environment,and socio-economy

Environmental and Ecological Statistics - As a special socio-ecosystem, urban sustainability has been challenged by frequent human activities and natural disasters. Including climate into the...     

洞庭湖区的湖垸农业与可持续发展对策

在调查分析洞庭湖区围湖垦殖和湖垸农业形成的历史的基础上，归纳了湖垸农业面临的生态环境问题：洪涝灾害发生频率加大；水面减少，生物多样性降低；环境污染严重，湿地生态功能衰退；土壤退化和潜育化严重；血吸虫病死灰复燃。并结合已有的经验，提出了湖垸农业可持续发展的对策措施：认真实施生态保护工程，减少泥沙淤积；调整湖垸农业结构，建立有利于避灾、减灾新模式；退田还湖，发展替代农业，发展莲藕、籽藕、茭白等水生经济植物种植；与企业结合，发展油菜、马铃薯、亚麻等工业原料作物；利用欧美杨耐涝性强的特点，在地势较高的季节性淹没的洲滩地，发展以林为主的林农复合经营模式，湖洲草地发展草食畜禽替代模式。     

江苏沿海地区海洋灾害类型及其防治探讨

根据江苏沿海地区的地质地貌及气候的特点,综合分析了危害江苏沿海的海洋灾害类型,主要有海洋地质灾害、气候灾害和生物灾害等三种类型。地质灾害主要包括海岸侵蚀、海岸坍塌、和海平面上升;气候灾害主要包括台风风暴潮;生物灾害主要包括赤潮、湿地滩涂面积缩小等。提出相应的防治措施:(1)加强对海岸带地质背景和地质灾害研究,应用GIS和RS等先进技术建立海洋灾害信息系统;(2)加强海防工程建设,加高海堤提高质量,以防御灾害性海浪、风暴潮等侵袭;(3)应用生态学原理,建立沿海生态防护网,增强对风暴潮抵御能力保护沿海湿地资源;(4)加强对海洋灾害及防御知识的教育和对防灾减灾的管理等。